Detachable pipe guides for pipe racking fingers

ABSTRACT

A pair of pipe guides are removably mounted on the free ends of parallel pipe racking fingers for guiding pipes into a slot between the fingers. The pipe guides fit over the ends of the fingers and include guide members secured at one end to base members, from which they diverge outwardly away from the intervening slot to form a wide tapered entrance to the slot.

United States Patent 191 Woolslayer June 11, 1974 [54] DETACHABLE PEPE GUIDES FOR PIPE 3,241,289 3/1966 Molins 53/236 RACKING FINGERS 3,701,435 10/1972 Woolslayer et al. 21 N60 RS [75] Inventor: Homer J. Woolslayer, Tulsa, Okla. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 73 Assigneez Lee C. Moore Conmration, Tulsa 956,820 4/1964 Great Britain 2] H60 R Okla.

Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier [22] 1973 Assistant Examirier-Abraham Frankel 1 1 pp 334,421 men 8w o 'B .9 9 ,M1 r kfin Peckham [52] US. Cl. 211/60 R, 214/6 D, 312/45 [51 1 Int. Cl. 865g 65/32, A47f 7/00 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 211/60 R, 60 S, 183; A pair of pipe guides are removably mounted on the 312/124 2 3 209/244 free ends of parallel pipe racking fingers for guiding 214/6 53/148 236 Us pipes into a slot between the fingers. The pipe guides fit over the ends of the fingers and include guide mem- [561 References C'ted bers secured at one end to base members, from which UNITED STATES PATENTS they diverge outwardly away from the intervening slot 2.933372 4/1960 Pollmann 53/236 UX to form a wide tapered entrance to the slot. 2.992.739 7/1961 Fazio 209 244 3,019,575 2/1962 Charley et a1. 53/236 x 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUNI 1 \974 3815757 SHEET NF 2 DETACI-IABLE PIPE GUIDES FOR PIPE RACKING FINGERS In US. Pat. No. 3,701,435 a horizontally moving pipe rack is shown, in which vertical posts or fingers extend upwardly from carriages that can be moved along tracks beneath a station where pipes are lowered into the slots between the fingers or lifted from those slots. In racking pipe in the pipe rack, unless a given pipereceiving slot is positioned properly below the pipe lowering means the pipe being lowered thereby may strike the upper ends of the fingers and be deflected into the wrong slot.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide means for assuring that pipes being racked will always enter the desired slot of the rack. Another object is to provide pipe guiding means of simple construction that can be moved along a pipe rack from slot to slot as they are filled with pipe.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a horizontally movable pipe rack provided with pipe guides;

FIG, 2 is an enlarged plan view of one of the pipe guides and a fragment of the other;

FIG. 3 is a view of the end of the guide that directs pipe into a slot; and

FIG. 4 is a view of the opposite end of the guide.

The pipe rack disclosed herein may be constructed the same as in the above-mentioned patent. Such a rack includes parallel tracks 1, only one of which is shown in FIG. I mounted on a base member 2. The track supports and guides the flanged wheels 3 of a carriage. The sides of the carriage, in which the wheels are journaled, may be formed from parallel l-beams 4. For moving each carriage along its track there is a traction screw 6 that has its rear end rotatably mounted in a bearing 7 secured to a block 8 mounted on the underlying base member. The screw extends centrally through the carriage directly above its wheel shaft 9 and through a nut (not shown) mounted on the screw and secured against rotation in the carriage so that when the screw is turned it will move the carriage along the track. The screw is driven from its rear end byany suitable motor, such as a hydraulic drive 11. A sprocket 12 mounted on the screw near its rear bearing is connected by an endless chain 13 with the screw of the other carriage so that only one screw needs to be driven directly and yet both will be turned in unison. To make the structure more rigid and to tie the two carriages together more directly, it is desirable to connect their rear ends by a truss.

Mounted on top of each carriage is a series of parallel vertical postsor fingers l spaced far enough apart lengthwise of the carriage to provide between them vertical slots open at the top and just wide enough to receive horizontal drill pipes 16 that can be stacked on their sides in the slots. Pipe removed from an oil well mast is lowered in a vertical plane to the rack carriages. This is done by pipe lowering means, only a part 17 of which is shown supporting a pipe in FIG. 1. As soon as one set of carriage slots is filled with pipe, the carriages are moved just far enough along their tracks to locate the next set of slots in pipe-receiving position. This can be repeated, if necessary, until all of the slots are stacked full of pipe. Of course, in running the pipe back into the hole this procedure is just reversed; the pipes are removed from the slots in succession.

It is a feature of this invention that means is provided for guiding into the desired slot of each carriage the pipe that is intended to fill that slot, even if the slot has not been positioned directly beneath the pipe-lowering means 17. Accordingly, removable pipe guides are mounted on the upper ends of fingers 15 at opposite sides of the designated slot. Each pipe guide has a horizontal base member 20 that fits over the upper ends of the fingers and that is supported by them. The adjacent or inner ends of the two base members terminate at the opposite sides of one of the slots. A guide member 21, in the form ofa bar or a tube, is secured at its lower end to the inner end of the base member and is inclined upwardly and outwardly over the base member and away from the pipe-receiving slot. The guide members of the two pipe guides at the opposite sides of the slot therefore diverge outwardly away from the slot to form a wide tapered entrance to it. As a result, there can be considerable misalignment of the slot with the pipelowering apparatus and still the pipe will enter the slot because it will be guided into it by one or the other of the pipe guides beside that slot.

' Each base member 20 preferably is formed from a pair of laterally spaced horizontal angle bars 22 engaging opposite sides of the upper ends of two or more of fingers 15. For stability reasons, it is preferred that these bars engage at least three of the fingers. Disposed between the opposite ends of the bars and welded to them are angle brackets 23 and 24, each of which has an upper horizontal flange and a lower vertical flange. The upper horizontal flange of the bracket 23 at the inner end of the base member is at the top of the vertical flanges of horizontal bars 22 and seats on a finger, while its vertical flange is spaced inwardly from that end so that a three-sided socket is formed in the base member for receiving the upper end of a finger and preventing the base member from moving lengthwise across the slot. The other bracket 24 is reversed relative to the one just described, in that its upper horizontal flange projects in the opposite direction from the counterpart horizontal flange of bracket 23 and rests on top of its adjoining finger. Its vertical flange prevents longitudinal movement of the base member away from the other pipe guide. Lateral movement of the outer end of the base member is prevented by braces 26 that are welded to the opposite ends of angle bracket 24 and straddle the finger. These braces may be angle bars. They extend upwardly above the base member and their upper ends are welded to the opposite sides of the upper end of guide member 21, the lower end of which is welded to the upper flange of bracket 23.

It will be seen that the pipe guide has a triangular appearance when viewed from the side as in FIG. I. It is applied to the fingers by merely lowering it onto the upper ends of two of them, which are received in the sockets in the opposite ends of its base member. The third or intermediate finger is straddled by the two side bars 22 of the base member. Greater stability is obguides are lifted off the fingers and moved lengthwise of the carriage in the same direction to open an adjoining slot and then they are set down on the underlying fingers at the opposite sides of the empty slot next to the filled one. This operation is repeated until all of the slots are filled or all of the pipe has been laid down. Of course, when the pipes are removed from the slots the pipe guides are not used.

Although the pipe guides described herein have been shown mounted on the upper ends of vertical fingers, it will be realized that they also can be used for the same purpose with the horizontal fingers of pipe racks up in an oil well drilling derrick or mast. In that position the pipe guides will aid in directing upright pipe being swung into slots between the horizontal fingers.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, 1 have explained the principle of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. The combination with a plurality of parallel pipe racking fingers and supporting means at one end of the fingers supporting them in spaced parallel relation to provide pipe-receiving slots between them, of a pair of pipe guides removably mounted on the free ends of said fingers for guiding pipes into said slots, the pipe guides comprising base members fitting over the free ends of a plurality of the fingers and supported thereby, said base members of the two guides having inner ends terminating at the opposite sides of one of said slots, and guide members secured at one end to said inner ends of the base members and diverging outwardly away from said slot to form a wide tapered entrance to the slot.

2. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said guide members are bars, each pipe guide including a brace extending from the outer end ofits said bar to the outer end of its base member.

3. The combination recited in claim 1, in which each of said pipe guides is provided with sockets receiving the free ends of a pair of said fingers.

4. The combination recited in claim 1, in which each of said base members includes means straddling the free ends of a pair of said fingers, and angle members secured to said straddling means and having flanges engaging the adjoining ends of said pair of fingers and sides of those fingers facing in opposite directions to thereby prevent movement of the straddling means laterally of said fingers.

5. Thecombination recited in claim 4, in which said straddling means are laterally spaced bars, and the flanges of said angle members that engage the sides of the fingers are disposed between said pair of fingers.

6. The combination recited in claim 1, in which each of said pipe guides is triangular with said base member and guide member forming two sides of the triangle.

7. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said fingers are upright and said supporting means is a horizontally movable carriage, said pipe guides being mounted on the upper ends of the fingers.

8. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said fingers are upright and said supporting means is a horizontally movable carriage, said pipe guides being provided with sockets receiving the upper ends of a pair of said fingers, said guide members are inclined bars and each pipe guide includes a brace extending from the upper end of its said bar down to the outer end of its base member. 

1. The combination with a plurality of parallel pipe racking fingers and supporting means at one end of the fingers supporting them in spaced parallel relation to provide pipe-receiving slots between them, of a pair of pipe guides removably mounted on the free ends of said fingers for guiding pipes into said slots, the pipe guides comprising base members fitting over the free ends of a plurality of the fingers and supported thereby, said base members of the two guides having inner ends terminating at the opposite sides of one of said slots, and guide members secured at one end to said inner ends of the base members and diverging outwardly away from said slot to form a wide tapered entrance to the slot.
 2. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said guide members are bars, each pipe guide including a brace extending from the outer end of its said bar to the outer end of its base member.
 3. The combination recited in claim 1, in which each of said pipe guides is provided with sockets receiving the free ends of a pair of said fingers.
 4. The combination recited in claim 1, in which each of said base members includes means straddling the free ends of a pair of said fingers, and angle members secured to said straddling means and having flanges engaging the adjoining ends of said pair of fingers and sides of those fingers facing in opposite directions to thereby prevent movement of the straddling means laterally of said fingers.
 5. The combination recited in claim 4, in which said straddling means are laterally spaced bars, and the flanges of said angle members that engage the sides of the fingers are disposed between said pair of fingers.
 6. The combination recited in claim 1, in which each of said pipe guides is triangular with said base member and guide member forming two sides of the triangle.
 7. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said fingers are upright and said supporting means is a horizontally movable carriage, said pipe guides being mounted on the upper ends of the fingers.
 8. The combination recited in claim 1, in which said fingers are upright and said supporting means is a horizontally movable carriage, said pipe guides being provided with sockets receiving the upper ends of a pair of said fingers, said guide members are inclined bars and each pipe guide includes a brace extending from the upper end of its said bar down to the outer end of its base member. 